From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Only a handful.

Aside from Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi, which of the other Confucian disciples could cultivate literary courage? Even among Confucius's three thousand disciples, not one cultivated literary courage. Otherwise, how could there only be one righteous spirit passed down in this world?

Only those with literary courage can cultivate a righteous spirit!

When the principles of cultivating talent and literary courage were revealed, Master Kong simply sighed slightly. If one were to ask which school of thought had the widest spread of its teachings, it would naturally be the Confucian school.

Talent and literary courage have been understood by most people who read and write since the establishment of Confucianism. Even the poetic, artistic, and musical aspects of some family practices today can be considered simplified versions of cultivating literary courage.

It's hard to cultivate a strong literary spirit!

Or rather, even one's initial talent is difficult to cultivate!

To truly master talent, one must unite Qi with intention, which is not simply a matter of opening the Ren and Du meridians and circulating Qi throughout the body.

You need to read books, but you shouldn't just read them by rote or memorize them. The principles in the books can be imprinted in your mind, but they can't be reflected in your heart.

One needs experience; otherwise, one can merely imitate others and write excellent poems and articles that are popular and garner praise, but one cannot elevate one's true state of mind.

Throughout history, many people have cultivated their talents because those who aspire to become officials must first study, and many of them are ambitious in their youth.

However, upon entering the imperial court, he discovered that his studies were almost entirely useless, yet he was unwilling to withdraw from officialdom, unwilling to devote himself solely to scholarship, and even dreamed of becoming a prime minister and a prince...

How can one cultivate literary courage under such circumstances?

Mr. Kong was able to cultivate his talent because he was not influenced by the outside world in his childhood, focused on his studies, and had ambitions, which is why he was able to succeed.

But now that he has grown up and truly begun to experience the world, he is exhausted. Even if he goes back to his studies, he will not be able to gain any more talent.

Although cultivating talent allows one to inherit the righteous spirit of the Sage Master, and by relying on this wisp of righteous spirit, one can stir one's thoughts and feel as if one has become one with the Sage Master. The strength of this righteous spirit is so great that even the first generation of Dragon Tiger Celestial Master Zhang Daoling had to give it some respect and not be rude.

But what they revered was the noble spirit of righteousness and the supreme sage and teacher.

Rather than the descendants of the Confucius family passed down through generations... This is also the reason why Mr. Confucius left Qufu. He wanted to help the Guo faction unify the country, and then, with the help of the Guo faction, he could vigorously establish Confucian academies throughout China.

Mr. Kong believed that only Confucianism could save China!

Furthermore, as Confucianism was promoted, his talent continued to improve until he reached the level of literary courage!

of course.

He didn't think he could compare to his ancestors, but as long as he could use the talent passed down from his ancestors to refine his own unique literary talent, that would be enough.

and so!

He is determined to prove himself superior to the Confucian Society and uphold the orthodoxy of Confucianism!

“Mr. Zhuge, it is indeed wrong of us to come uninvited, but our intention to exchange ideas on Confucianism with the Confucian Association is sincere.” Mr. Kong bowed again. “However, ‘Confucianism’ refers to the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. I cannot allow others to misuse the word ‘Confucian’ at will. I hope you can understand.”

"hehe."

Zhuge Yu sneered, "You didn't inherit the virtues of the Sage Confucius, only your eloquence. No wonder you lack literary courage. I don't think you'll ever develop literary courage in your lifetime."

But you've got the wrong person!

Go find the president! If the president isn't here, find the vice president! If the vice president isn't here either, find the acting president! What are you doing here at Mingxin Academy?

"Sir, you are mistaken."

Mr. Kong had his own reasoning: "Since ancient times, elders have been respected. Jiang Liu and Lu Jinnian are only twenty years old, and Miss Hong is just a woman. Neither of them can be convincing."

"Well, there's nothing more to say..."

"and many more!"

Yuan's mother jumped in and said, "Dean, why don't you agree?"

From the moment the three entered the gates of Mingxin Academy, their every word and action was observed and heard by Wugensheng, Wuman, and Yuan's mother.

The three men, seeing that the three children were only five or six years old, paid them no attention.

Unexpectedly, Yuan's mother jumped out.

“They’ve already bullied us, how can we be afraid of them?” Mother Yuan continued, not wanting to let things escalate.

"You've only been in the preschool class at Mingxin Academy for about half a month, right?" Zhuge Yu frowned slightly, feeling a headache coming on.

But Mr. Kong seized the opportunity and said, "Are these the students of your esteemed academy? How rude! Or is it that your academy does not teach its students Confucian etiquette?"

"It's just the innocent talk of a child, Yu Ru, why make such a big deal out of it?" Zhuge Yu said casually.

Upon first hearing the phrase "to escalate the issue to a major level," both Mr. Kong and Zhang Enpu were taken aback, but based on the context, they guessed its meaning.

Being too serious.

Then, Mr. Kong smiled and asked, "I wonder if there is any story behind this phrase?"

"Isn't the 'Guo Pai' (锅派) a story full of allusions to this word? Can't you see that, Yu Ru?" Zhuge Yu casually replied, leaving Mr. Kong speechless.

But Yuan's mother was not willing to let the matter end there and hoped that Mingxin Academy would confront the Kong family.

Without him.

Mr. Kong is the 77th generation descendant of Confucius and is seen by the world as the representative of orthodox Confucianism. If he can defeat the representative of the Confucian Association in public, even without directly targeting Jiang Liu, it will still allow her to vent her anger. So she said, "Dean, do we really have to be cowards?"

This moment!

Zhuge Yu had a strong urge to pick up the girl and spank her!

Wugensheng sighed inwardly, but he only pretended to be a child who wanted to get close but didn't dare to, looking back and forth at Zhuge Yu with longing eyes.

Seeing Wugensheng's expression, Zhuge Yu knew that he knew the girl but was too afraid to come closer... A sense of helplessness welled up in his heart.

"A coward cannot be tolerated."

Just then, a strong voice rang out from behind the group.

Zhang Enpu's body trembled involuntarily.

Mr. Kong turned around.

Zhuge Yu's face lit up with joy, and he said, "President, you're back!"

"Upon returning to Yuhang, I noticed a disturbance and decided to investigate."

Jiang Liu smiled slightly, then looked at Zhang Enpu and Kong Yuru and said, "If you two come to visit Mingxin Academy, we would certainly welcome you. But if you come to 'challenge' us... then you've come to the wrong place. This is not a martial arts school, but an academy. All we seek is to 'educate people'."

"President Jiang, I've long admired you." Kong Yuru bowed respectfully, then added, "President, you've misunderstood. We're not here to challenge you, but simply to discuss Confucianism..."

“In that case, my Confucian Association agrees. Let’s set the date for the fifteenth of next month, and the location will be the Cultural Street Square. It’ll be more lively. What do you think?” Jiang Liu’s discerning eyes had already known what had happened. He changed the location from the academy to Cultural Street and chose a day for the sermon.

“You are the host, so you have the final say,” Kong Yuru said without hesitation.

"Uncle-Master, it's been a long time. How have you been?"

at this time.

Zhang Zhiwei greeted Zhang Enpu.

"You are... Zhiwei?"

Zhang Enpu looked Zhang Zhiwei up and down, his brows furrowed. "You're just going down the mountain for training, a short haircut would have been fine. What kind of haircut is this? It's even shorter than Confucius's. Are you going to become a monk?"

"To show your spirit."

Zhang Zhiwei laughed heartily, not taking it to heart. He touched his almost bald, short-haired head and then said, "Uncle-Master, listen to my advice, stop now, go back to Longhu Mountain, and don't make the same mistake again."

"Hmph! Just as stubborn as your master!" Zhang Enpu sneered, unwilling to linger any longer, and walked towards the main gate of Mingxin Academy.

Kong Yuru was somewhat embarrassed, but since the competition agreement had already been made, there was no need for her to stay any longer. She then bowed and took her leave, following Zhang Enpu.

After the two figures disappeared outside the gate, Jiang Liu turned his gaze to Yuan's mother, Wu Gensheng, and Wu Man, and said leisurely, "Will the three of you reveal your true forms yourselves, or should I help you?"

"No! No! No! We'll do it ourselves! We'll do it ourselves!"

Seeing that Zhang Zhiwei beside Jiang Liu had already condensed Yang Thunder, Wugensheng hurriedly waved his hand, tore the paper talisman, and his figure grew taller, revealing his true form.

He is depicted as a carefree young man with long, flowing hair.

Wu Man and Yuan's mother could only tear off the talisman paper to reveal their true faces.

"How dare you!"

Upon seeing the three people in their true forms, Zhuge Yu was furious. "How dare you disguise yourself as a child and sneak into the academy! Who are you people?"

"Complete nature, without roots."

“Quanxing, Wu Man”.

"Quanxing, Guilanxiang".

Yuan's mother's real name was Gui Lanxiang.

"Hey, Brother Jiang, Master Jiang, we were wrong, can you let us go?" Wugensheng pleaded, "Or I'll kneel down for you."

"Fine, kneel down."

To everyone's surprise, Jiang Liu actually spoke up.

Left with no other choice, he could only kneel down.

This scene stunned Wu Man and Yuan's mother—

This behavior...

Do you want face?

This also surprised Zhuge Yu somewhat.

Zhang Zhiwei also glanced sideways—no wonder Jiang Liu took a liking to him! He really is a decent person!

"Please, we're the Quanxing! Do you still have any shame?" Seeing the two people beside him staring in disbelief, Wugensheng looked completely matter-of-fact.

Then he asked Jiang Liu, "Can you let us go?"

"Is kneeling enough?"

Jiang Liu asked with a smile, "I remember telling you last time that if I saw you again, I wouldn't hold back."

Wugensheng laughed and said, "Then shall I kowtow again?"

"One is enough?"

"Those two?"

“Eighty-four thousand of you, go kneel outside the gate of Mingxin Academy, kowtow once, and say ‘I was wrong,’ and we will forgive you.”

And so—